NMSU community shares desired characteristics for next president

LAS CRUCES —Transparency, stability and familiarity with New Mexico State University were prominent concerns raised during a forum on the institution's search for a new president.

The meeting comes after the resignations of former university President Barbara Couture in October and former Provost Wendy Wilkins on Nov. 6.

About 50 faculty, staff, students and community members attended the 4 p.m. forum to share what characteristics they would like to see in the future president.

The Board of Regents initiatied the hearing to gather insight into what qualities and credentials the NMSU community values before forming a presidential search committee. The board hopes to announce a new president next spring, Regent Chairman Mike Cheney said.

The session is the first of seven forums the Regents will hold across the state.

Multiple attendees took the microphone to ask that the future president be an NMSU grad or at least familiar with land-grant universities and serving minority, low-income students.

"Who better to lead us Aggies than an Aggie?" asked Zachary Quintero, a senior studying government and economics.

Many said a president who appreciates diversity and NMSU's mission to serve and recruit multi-cultural students and faculty is key.

The new president should prioritize improving graduation rates for under-represented, low-income students, who make up most New Mexico high school graduates, said Marc Legarreta, chairman of the Hispanic Faculty Staff Caucus.

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"Current rates are dismal and are an indication that we're not fulfilling our mission as a land-grant institution," he said. "We have to remember that we are here to educate the industrial classes of New Mexico, which includes just about everyone."

The president must foster an atmosphere that welcomes diverse individuals and research, as well as strive to hire graduates of NMSU's Ph.D programs, he said.

"We have to recognize that we have talent here at New Mexico State University, and we want to keep that talent here," he said. "We don't want to educate people to leave. We want to educate them to be here and to serve us."

Students Cynthia Moore and Tara Melton said they're looking for a president who is transparent and keeps students informed on where their tuition money goes.

"We're tired of being lied to and not knowing what's going on behind the scenes," Melton, a junior studying journalism, said before the forum, noting Couture and Wilkins' recent departure.

Multiple people also raised the issue of stability.

NMSU has had five presidents and five interim presidents in the past two decades. No president since 1994 has served more than four years, half the national average, according to the American Council on Education's 2007 report.

"We have had multiple presidents since I first arrived, which has made it very difficult, in fact impossible, for any concrete vision to be implemented," said Margaret Malamud, a history professor who has been with the university for 20 years. "So we seriously need someone who has vision and someone who, hopefully, will stay."

The future president should want to be at NMSU, said Keith Roberts, a sophomore who hasn't declared a major.

"First and foremost, I want a president who can embrace NMSU and embrace the beautiful city of Las Cruces, who genuinely wants to be here, who wants to be here a long time, not just a stepping stone, but, you know, who's in here for the long haul," Roberts said.

Relatability and a focus on academics were other common themes, as well as a president who actively reaches out to students, faculty and alumni.

"Who are we here for?" asked Larry Creider, interim head of library archives and special collections. "We are here for our students. We are here for each other. We are not here to build our own little empires."

Director of Black Programs Festus Addo-Yobo urged the board to choose a president who can "walk among the people" and will get to know the needs of faculty and students.

"You're working for them," echoed senior David Maestas, vice president of the Associated Students of NMSU. "You're kind of a public servant in a sense."

Rep. Andy Nuñez, Independent-Hatch, suggested the board select a president who can work with the state Legislature on behalf of the university.

"Because I'm from Hatch," he added, "that president has to be able to eat some good chile."

Lindsey Anderson can be reached at 575-541-5462. Follow her on Twitter at @l_m_anderson.